UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

During the period represented by this inventory David Fairchild continued his explorations of the countries on the West Coast of Africa, including the -Gold Coast, Cameroon, Gambia, and French Guinea. Included in his collections were ornamental trees and shrubs and also a number of local varieties of fruits and vegetables, all tropical or subtropical in their requirements. An interesting series of cotton varieties (Gossypium spp.; Nos. 73125 to 73137) was obtained in French West Africa by R. H. Forbes, Compagnie Generate des Colonies. The curator of the Lloyd Botanic Garden at Darjiling, India, G. H. Cave, presented a number of ornamental perennials and woody plants (Nos. 73140 to 73155) adapted for growing in the southern United States. A rather large collection of new or rare woody ornamentals (Nos. 73401 to 73450). largely from eastern Asia, was presented by Vicary Gibbs, Aldenham House Gardens, Herts, England. From the botanic garden at Tashkent, Turkestan, Russia, there were obtained seeds of a miscellaneous collection (Nos. 73595 to 73619, 73810 to 73819) of hardy fruits, vegetables, cereals, and ornamentals, which will be tested in the colder parts of the United States. A collection of seeds consisting chiefly of cereal varieties and also adapted for trial in the northern part of this country (Nos. 74023 to 74111) was presented by the bureau of introduction, Institute of Applied Botany, Leningrad, Russia. The botanical determinations of introductions have been made and the nomenclature determined, by H. C. Skeels, and the descriptive matter has been prepared under the direction of Paul Russell, who has had general supervision of -this inventory. i KNOWLES A. RYERSON, Principal Horticulturist, in Charge.


CHINENSIS (Turcz.) Baill.
A hardy ornamental woody vine with compact bunches of small red berries.
Tiliaceae. A very large-leaved linden which is locally used for making water troughs, barrels, and also beehives. It may be utilized in the colder parts of the United States as an ornamental park and shade tree.
For previous introduction see No. 57246.

Fabaceae.
From San Juan, Porto Rico. Seeds presented by O. W. Barrett, agricultural director, Department of Agriculture and Labor. Received June 10,1927. As described in the Revista de Agricultura Tropical, El Salvador, vol. 1, p. 65, the barajillo is a rapidly growing shrub native to the Republic of El Salvador at altitudes ranging from 2,000 to 4,000 feet. Under favorable conditions it sometimes becomes a small tree about 18 feet high. The trifoliate leaves are softly hairy and up to 3 H inches in length, and the smMl purplish flowers are borne in terminal racemes late in October. The roots of the barajillo are very large and penetrate deeply into the soil; the tubercles formed by the nitrogengathering bacteria are usually found only on the upper third of the root. All kinds of cattle are exceedingly fond of this plant; furthermore,' it is capable of enduring prolonged drought and of thriving in very poor soil.
For previous introduction see No. 55446. Manuka. An evergreen shrub which is one of the most abundant in New Zealand. It is of compact, bushy habit, sometimes 30 feet high. The hard, leathery, sharp-pointed leaves are very aromatic, for which reason they have sometimes been used for making tea. The flowers, borne in great profusion, are white or pink, and about threefourths of an inch across.
-, A red-flowering variety of this very abundant tree or shrub, the beautiful colonial counterpart of the English broom or gorse, sometimes 30 . feet high. Early voyagers and colonists sometimes used its pungent leaves in place of tea. Indeed, the whole plant, including leaves, flowers, fruit, and young shoots, is highly aromatic, and the oil which it contains will perhaps 73090 to 73093-Continued.
in the future be put to some useful purpose. The wood is largely used for fences and firewood. The Maoris made use of it for their paddles and spears, and a bunch of the twigs makes an excellent broom. Seeds from trees growing in the Jaffna Peninsula* northern Ceylon, at 9 to 20 feet altitude. The soil is a stiff red clay and contains a small amount of sand. Coral rock underlies the whole region at depths varying from 10 inches to 15 feet.
73095. AZADIRACHTA INDICA (L.) Juss. Meli aceae. Vempu, vermpoo. A large handsome tropical Indian tree, with long spreading branches and small fragrant white flowers. The timber is hard and is not eaten by termites. The tree is suited to the seacoast as well as to the interior. The leaves and fruits are used medicinally, and the seeds contain an oil which is used for rheumatism.
For previous introduction see No. 46573. 73096 and 73097. CAESALPINIA PULCHERRIMA (L). Swartz. Caesalpiniaceae. Flower fence. Peacock flower. A handsome tropical evergreen shrub, about 7 feet high, which in Ceylon withstands a drought of two or three months. It has mimosalike foliage and showy flowers which appear on the new growth. 73096. A yellow-flowered variety. 73097. A red-flowered variety.
73098. GHALGAS KOENIGII (L.) Kurz. Rutaceae* Karu vempu, catu vermpoo. A small tropical tree found chiefly in the dry region. The seeds are in season generally during April. It prefers light rich soil and with cultivation will thrive at an altitude of 2,000 feet. In Ceylon the dried leaves are used in curries, soups, etc. This variety is propagated by seeds. 73099. MADHUCA LONGIFOLIA (L.) Coville (Bassia longifolia L.). Sapotaceae. Illupai, il loop pay. A medium-sized tree of attractive habit and thick foliage, which thrives in the dry districts of northern Ceylon. Theflowers have a pungent odor and are dried and eaten, and in India alcohol is obtained from them. The seeds yield an edible oil used in cooking both by the Europeans and the natives of Ceylon. It could probably be refined so as tocompete with olive oil. The oil cake makes good fertilizer, and it may prove useful in making soap. The timber is hard and heavy and useful for wall plates, doors, and window frames.

and 73101.
From Amoy, China A gingerlike tender plant 4 feet high, with stems red at the base, narrow leaves up to 8 inches long, and yellow flowers. At one time it was a well-known condiment, but is now used in veterinary medicine only. It is used by the natives of the Cameroon region as a drug. 73111. AMOMUM MELEGUETA Roscoe. Zinziberaceae. Aburi, Gold Coast. A gingerlike bushy perennial, 5 feet high, with small golden seeds which are used as spice.
For previous introduction see No. 72992. 73112. PHIALODISCUS UNIJUGATUS Radlk. Sapindaceae. No. 1225. February 27, 1927. Etu dua. A handsome shade tree with dense dark-green foliage and salmon-pink fruits which open and expose black seeds. 73113. APODYTES BENINENSIS Hook. f. Icacinaceae. No. 1266. French Guinea, March 10, 1927. A small tropical tree, 3 to 5 meters high, found on very dry rocky land near Mamou. It produces attractive red berries which are bitter and not edible. 73110 to 73122-Continued. 73114. BOMBAX BUONOPOZENSE Beauv. Bom-No. 1261. Near Mamou, French Guinea, March 10, 1927. A small tropical tree 8 to 10 meters high, with a spiny trunk. The large deep-red flowers, which appear before the leaves, are said to be darker on the young trees than on the old trees. 73115. DACTYLOCTENIUM AEGYPTIUM (L.) Richter (Eleusine acgyptiaca Desf.) Poaceae. Grass. No. 1235 I, 1927. A handsome shade tree which grows to 80 feet in height and 24 feet in circumference, with dark-green stiff leathery leaves, about 10 inches in length, arranged in picturesque groupings on the branches. This tree is said to be the source of Kano rubber. The latex is used as bird lime, and tannin is obtained from the bark. A fabric is made from the bast by some of the natives of central Africa. 73119. INDIGOFERA MACROPHYLLA Schum. and Thonn. Fabaceae. No. 1243. Between Akkra andAburi, Gold Coast, February 26, 1927. A tall bushy tropical leguminous plant producing a large quantity of seed, found in stiff clay soil in the lowlands. 73120. MOMOR©ICA FOETIDA Schum. and Thonn. Cucurbitaceae. No. 1171. Near Bouea, Cameroon, February II, 1927. A tropical ornamental cucurbitaceous vine with egg-shaped orange fruits which are covered with soft spines and which split open to expel the seeds. 73121. MUSANGA SMITHII R. Br. Moraceae.
No. 1213. Near the Ekona estate, Cameroon, March 18, 1927. The corkwood tree of West Africa, which owes its name to the lightness of its white wood. It is 60 to 80 feet high and is a rapid grower. The leaves are palmate with drooping leaflets. 73122. PENNISETUM CILIARE (L.) Link (P. cenchroides Rich.). Poaceae. Grass. No. 1294. Near Cape Manuel Lighthouse, Dakar, Senegal, March 16, 1927. A tropical grass 8 to 18 inches high, which grows in bunches 6 to 8 inches in diameter on sandy and rocky soil.
For previous introduction see No. 51648.  Nigeria,pt. II,p. 288), a large proportion of the gum arabic of commerce is furnished by this tree, which is native to northern Africa and southwestern Asia. True gum arabic, however, is said to come only from another species, Acacia Senegal. The pods and bark of A. scorpioides are used for tanning, and the leaves and young pods are sometimes fed to cattle. The wood is hard and durable and is used in India for making tools.  20, 1927. Numbered June, 1927. No. 710. Sibolangit. March 26, 1926. A clump species of bamboo with thin-walled culms and internodes 30 inches long. The wood is of fair quality, and the stems are never more than 2î nches in diameter. A single clump may produce 1,000 culms 10 meters long. It is from this species that the Battaks make their flutes. The Battak names are boloeh and krapat. 73223 to 73262-Continued. 73226. BARRINGTONIA ASIATICA (L.) Kurz.

to 73262.
As described by Rock (The Ornamental Trees of Hawaii, p. 663) this is a large, handsome East Indian tree with thick leathery shining bright-green leaves and very conspicuous flowers with four white petals and numerous crimson-tipped stamens, resembling a brush. The fruit is quite large and is the shape of a 4-sided pyramid; it is smooth on the outside and contains one seed. The tree forms extensive forests along the shores of some of the Pacific islands. In the Molukkas an illuminating oil is extracted from the seeds, and the dry fruits are gathered by the natives and used as floats for their fish nets.
An evergreen tropical ornamental tree, 30 feet high, with racemes of red flowers. Native to the East Indies.
A tropical ornamental shrub 5 feet or more high, with narrowly oblong leaves and josy pink flowers in slender pendulous spikes a foot or more long. Native to Java. Caprifoliaceae. An ornamental Japanese shrub, 6 to 10 feet high, with oval long-pointed leaves 3 to 5 inches long and flowers which are at first pale pink, later changing to carmine.
For A bamboo from a small grove of uncertain age growing on the Laughlin estate, Zellwood, Fla. The culms are up to 45 feet in height, 11 inches in circumference, and more elliptic in cross section than those of any other bamboo I have seen. The space between the nodes and what I am calling the "supranodal ring" is distinctly black. Otherwise this is much like Phyllostachys bambusoides. (Young.) 73390 to 73393.  ,1927, . No. 1245. From the market at Secundee, Gold Coast, March 1, 1927. An African form of the Palmyra palm of India, which resembles the cabbage palm of Florida. It stands drought well and is a slow grower, though palms have attained a height of 7 feet in three years. The edible fruits taste a little like a mango, but they are very fibrous. In the number of uses to which this palm is put it rivals the coconut palm. A delicate sugar is made from the sap, which flows in abundance from its inflorescence when cut. The seeds are germinated, and the young subterranean hypocotyl is used as a vegetable.
For previous introduction see No. 66649. Reader.
Long-leaf deutzia. This deutzia, from Yunnan, China, which bears its large flowers in dense many-flowered corymbs, is one of the handsomest of the genus, but has proved hardy only under protection at the Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Mass.
Broadleaf pernettya. According to W. J. Bean (Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles, vol. 2, p. 127), this is one of the finest ornamental shrubs, native to South America about the Straits of Magellan. It is one of the hardiest from that continent, and is rarely injured by frost in the neighborhood of London. The shrub is evergreen, 2 to 5 feet high, and spreads freely by suckers, forming ultimately a dense, low thicket. The white nodding flowers, one-fourth of an inch long, are produced singly in the axils of the leaves at the ends of the shoots. The round berries, up to half an inch in diameter, vary in color from white to pink, lilac-crimson purple, or almost black, and remain on the branches throughout the winter and following spring. At Kew, near London, the berries are untouched by the birds. A species cultivated in Siberia as a substitute for garlic. It has a narrowly eggshaped bulb and a stem up to 3 feet in height.
For previous introduction see No. 59340.

ALLIUM ODORUM L.
This onion, which is native to Europe, is cultivated in Japan for the sake of its leaves which are produced abundantly in the spring and are eaten as greens.
This species, native to Turkestan, has rose-colored flowers produced freely in manyflowered umbels on scapes 6 inches high.
For previous introduction see No. 66533-73522 to 73548-Continued.

ALLIUM SCORODOPRASUM L.
Variety sibiricum. The sand leek or rocambole of Europe and Asia Minor resembles garlic, but has smaller bulbs of milder flavor which are produced at the tip of the stem as well as at its base.
For previous introduction see No. 59387.

ALLIUM SCORODOPRASUM BABINGTONH
(Borer) Richter. This is a much larger plant than the typical form, the scape being 4 to 6 feet high, and the more numerous leaves are broader, sometimes 2 inches wide at the base. The flowers are pale reddish purple. The bulbous base of the plant is globose, with solid white bulbs attached to the hard white crown of the root. This variety is native to England and probably also to Ireland.
For According to Brown and Merrill (Philippine Palms and Palm Products, p. 98), the nipa palm has a stout creeping underground stem and the pinnate leaves, which are in erect clusters, are about 25 feet long. The flat fruits, 5 inches long, 4 inches wide, and 2 inches thick, are crowded in a large round head which is borne on a special erect stalk. The juice obtained by cutting this stalk just below the fruiting head is a promising source of sugar and alcohol. The leaves are extensively used for thatching and for making baskets and mats.  [. No. 6257. [. No. 6258. [. No. 6259. [. No. 6260. [. No. 6261. \ No. 6262. [. No. 6263. . I. No. 6264.

73822.
Arpa. Palm. A small graceful palm, becoming 30 feet high, which is native to tropical South America. Theerect stem is slightly swollen at the base and is clearly ringed; these rings are armed with stiff black slender spines 2 or 3 inches long. The bright-green terminal pinnate fronds are 4 to 5 feet long, spreading and drooping.

Dungan
For  Received September 16, 1926. Numbered in April, 1927 A large bamboo 25 to 50 feet high and V/i to 3 inches in diameter, reported to have a wide range in Africa. It has a very different appearance from the remainder of the genus, but the structure of the spiculae in all the species is very similar. A tall handsome tree, native to northern Japan* up to 25 meters in height, with smooth, darkbrown bark and ovate or ovate-lanceolate sharply serrate leaves 6 to 12 centimeters long. The single pink flowers, 2.5 to 4 centimeters wide are in fewflowered clusters, and the black fruits are about the size of peas. This wild Japanese cherry is considered by E. H. Wilson (Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Mass.) to be the parent of several of the finest double-flowering varieties of flowering cherries and also to be the most satisfactory stock on which to work these varieties.  Senegal, March 17, 1927. The morotodi of the Foulani people, which is sometimes called the "desert date." A handsome tropical evergreen shrub with fragrant flowers and fruits which resemble the "dry" date as it is sold on the market. The wood is very hard and is used for plowhandles. The bark is used for fish poison, the seeds for the oil contained in them, and the leaves are used as a vegetable. Caesalpihiaceae. No. 1279. Near Mamou, Fouta Jalon, French Guinea, March 10, 1927. The "ordeal tree," so called because an infusion of the poisonous bark is used in many parts of Africa as an ordeal to test the guilt of a suspected person. It is also used as an arrow poison. This is a large handsome tropical tree up to 50 feet high, and the wood is very hard and durable.
For  Received March 25, 1927. Num. • bered April, 1927. No. 1192. Botanic garden, Victoria, February 17,1927 A form of the African oil palm with flowers having a so-called "fleshy perianth" (probably abortive fruits) which contain 69 per cent of oil. The common type has a papery perianth. The native name is diwakkawakka. No. 7599. Hiking. Growing near the water at Aek Sordang, Loendoet, Koealoe. A wild species with pinnately compound alternate leaves. The clingstone fruits, about an inch in diameter, are russet yellow when ripe, with a rather nondescript but not unpleasant acid taste, and contain a single large hard seed. This species is not cultivated, as far as could be learned, but is utilized when found. 74120. DRYMOPHLOEUS sp. Phoenicaceae.

to 73962.
Palm. Boenet, Asahan. (Cultivated ornamental.) A semidwarf cespitose palm 9 to 12 feet high, with unarmed pinnate leaves and an abundance of brilliant red fleshy fruits half an inch in diameter, containing spindle-shaped longitudinally 5-furrowed seeds. The flesh probably contains rhaphides, because it is irritating to tender skin. 74121 to 74123 Grass. A tropical American grass which is best adapted to the moist or alluvial soils of the southern United States. It grows from a rootstock, with rather coarse, tender stems and leaves, reaching a height of about 2 feet. It has promise as a hay or pasture grass.
Grass. An annual, tufted, erect or ascending grass, up to a foot in height, with smooth leaves about an inch long, and cylindrical spikes. It is native to Europe and the northern coast of Africa.
Grass. An erect annual or ascending grass 4 to 16 inches high. Native to the Mediterranean countries. 74172. PSILURUS ARISTATUS (L.) Lange. Poaceae. Grass. A bushy annual grass with slender stems up to a foot high. It is native to dry rocky places in the Mediterranean countries. 74173. SCHISMUS BARBATUS (L.) Chase. Poaceae.
Grass. An annual grass with numerous spreading slender stems up to 10 inches long. Native to dry places in the Mediterranean countries. 74174. SESLERIA ARGENTEA Savi. Poaceae.
Grass. A perennial cespitose grass with stems up to a foot and a half high. Native to sandy places in the Mediterranean countries. Henbane. Like the henbane (Hyoscyamus niger), thisplant, which is native to Egypt and western Asia, is a source of hysocyamin, an alkaloid used in the treatment of various nervous disorders. It is a thick-stemmed perennial with fleshy,.
• ovate leaves about 4 inches long and violetspotted, whitish flowers nearly an inch in length.